To join the awareness crusade, The Daily News will publish a special section containing important information about breast cancer on Sunday, Oct. 13.

The Onslow Memorial Hospital-sponsored Breast Cancer Awareness Guide will tell the stories of those involved in the fight ó the doctors who diagnose breast cancer, the medical teams who bring hopeful treatment to their patients, and the greatest warriors in this battle, those who have fought and those who continue to fight the disease.

Breast cancer is responsible for the deaths of about 40,000 U.S. women each year ó mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends. About one in eight will get the diagnosis at some point during her lifetime.

Men get breast cancer, too, but it is more rare than in women ó about 1 in every 1,000.

Time was when the diagnosis meant extreme surgery and difficult follow-up treatment. Thanks to research and greater action on the part of women and men, that has changed. So has the survival rate.

Forty years ago, less than 75 percent of women with breast cancer survived more than five years. Today, the survival rate is more than 90 percent. Those stats come from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The incidence of breast cancer is declining, too, the CDC reports, by 0.9 percent a year.

While thatís all good news, thereís still a way to go which is why there is this monthís big rally around pink.

Pink everywhere serves as a reminder for women to put fear, procrastination and neglect aside and get regular screening for breast cancer. The reason is simple: Earlier detection leads to more treatment options and a better outcome.

Pink also reminds us to remember those who have been lost to breast cancer ó the people you know and love. They would be the first to back efforts at greater awareness, to encourage regular screening and to support research that can lead to more advanced treatment and cure.

And finally, pink links family and friends to those now facing breast cancer. Support them with the kind of encouragement that means the most to them ó not only in October, but as long as their fight continues.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Advertising

News

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
New Bern Sun Journal ~ 3200 Wellons Blvd., New Bern, NC 28562 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service